Gosh, I love this list. Having all the things that I want to do front and center, in-my-face, really inspires me. Motivates me to seize opportunities.
Case in point: Last week, my parents invited me over for a family gathering on Sunday (3/29). A little barbecue thing, celebrating my cousin Charlie's graduation from USMC Military Police school. I decided that it would be a good opportunity to try out my Grandmother's Potato Salad recipe since I would have a circle of food critics available.
First a little background. My paternal grandmother, Catherine, was a very nice, sweet lady. A very good grandma. Anyway, for most family events - anything spring or summer-y - she would make Potato Salad (note capitals). Which as a young child I quickly became addicted to and would look forward to at each event. As she got older and unable the task of making it fell to my aunt Linda.
As a side note, I find it amusing that my mother, who is an excellent cook, has not been able to totally master the Potato Salad. I attribute that to her reluctance to use Miracle Whip as well as not using the full complement of bacon grease that the recipe calls for. And yes, I said bacon grease. This is not Heart Healthy Potato Salad.
So, anyway it was Linda who I approached last fall for guidance in how to make the Potato Salad. Oddly, out of 9 grandchildren there are really only 2 who love the Potato Salad. So, I wanted to learn it and carry it on if possible. Linda, who deserves my thanks, was kind enough to spend an evening showing me how it was done.
I also have to credit Alton Brown for a bit of inspiration about how valuable and rewarding it is to not just write down a treasured family recipe but to sit and work with your mother, grandmother, whoever, making a test batch. For all of Alton's talk of the science of cooking, there is still an art to it, a certain amount of voodoo.
Our test batch that fall was successful. But after 4 months I still hadn't tried it on my own, and had been thinking I should before I forgot the voodoo completely. So on Saturday I made my attempt. I first tried to buy a bigger stockpot, but Target had only El Cheapo brand for sale, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond only sells sets. Bought all the ingredients. Made sure the needed dishes were clean, since my kitchen doesn't normally get much use.
Boiled up 5 pounds of potatoes which took every pot I had and all four burners of my stove. Chopped up the celery and onions. Learned I'm a slow chopper so I must get on #88 - Knife skills soon. But still the whole process only took about 2 hours which didn't seem unreasonable. The moment of truth came, I tried a bite. And was a bit disappointed. It just wasn't the same, something was a little off. It didn't have the same tartness as Grandma's or Linda's. It was potato salad, sure, just not Potato Salad.
I knew though that it does take a little bit to set up and that it is better cold. So, I wanted to wait and see. But I wasn't confident. Still it was edible, and I would need Linda to diagnosis the problem anyway, so I asked my Mom if I could bring it over the next day. She agreed. I hadn't mentioned anything beforehand since I was fearful that the potatoes would spontaneously ignite while boiling or something else would happen and I'd be left with an inedible mess.
Into the refrigerator. And then Ladies and Gentlemen a miracle occurred. When I tried some the next morning , it had changed. Ok, maybe not quite transsubstantiation, but still you need to listen when I say that the gap between what I made on Saturday and what I ate on Sunday could not have been crossed by a mere "melding" of flavors. Believe what you will, but I'm convinced my Grandmother in heaven interceded with whomever the patron saint of cooks is.
I took it over to my parents. Both my Mom and Dad tried it and pronounced it good, that I had successfully replicated the recipe. My aunt Linda actually hugged me, though I told her to wait until after she tried it. She did it and it passed her critique. Everybody else who tried it liked it, and so assuming honest feedback, I am incredibly pleased with how it turned out.
I need to replicate this another 2 times before I'm going to cross this off the list. For next time, I need to buy a bigger stockpot (at least 8 qt.) so that all the potatoes get done closer together. I also could improve the knife skills, as I mentioned earlier. Lighting a candle and saying a prayer beforehand probably wouldn't hurt either.
Favorite quote (to a friend after I got the recipe from Linda): It is like I learned how to make meth!
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